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Fjord Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes, EU Films Shine

5/27/2026

Summary

France Awards Fjord

France gave the Palme d’Or to Fjord, by Cristian Mungiu, at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, win that Barry Hertz says earns a 2027 Oscar nomination.
EU-funded films took awards, such as Jury Prize for Das Geträumte Abenteuer, while Creative Europe MEDIA supported 19 films with €1.17 million.
Hertz noted that every Grand Lumière screening gets a standing ovation and that Cannes favors theatrical releases over streaming, appetite for international films.

Summary

Cannes Limits Hollywood

Cannes ended its 79th edition on May 23 with limited Hollywood participation.
No major Hollywood premieres occurred despite speculation about director Steven Spielberg’s *Disclosure Day* and director Christopher Nolan’s *The Odyssey*.
The only Hollywood-originated film was actor John Travolta’s 61-minute directorial debut from his 1997 book *Propeller One-Way Night Coach*.
Observers say Cannes is building its own “Hollywood,” as American talent shifts toward TV series like *White Lotus*.

History

Historical Context

At the 48th Cannes Film Festival in May 1995, Emir Kusturica’s *Underground* and Gabriele Salvatores’s *The Postman* shared the Palme d’Or, underscoring Cannes’s role as Europe’s premier art-cinema showcase—a status noted by scholars Forbes and Street. The festival, founded in 1946, continues this legacy in its 79th edition, where European titles still dominate the programme.

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France Awards Fjord

France gave the Palme d’Or to Fjord, by Cristian Mungiu, at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, win that Barry Hertz says earns a 2027 Oscar nomination.
EU-funded films took awards, such as Jury Prize for Das Geträumte Abenteuer, while Creative Europe MEDIA supported 19 films with €1.17 million.
Hertz noted that every Grand Lumière screening gets a standing ovation and that Cannes favors theatrical releases over streaming, appetite for international films.

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